I continue to be surprised

Every week I am here seems to get more and more interesting. And this past week did not disappoint. The snow that once hid the city from us has turned into rain. Thus, the city has turned bright green revealing parks and lawns and squares. It literally happened over night but the trees have started to bud and I hope that by the time we leave everything is in full bloom.

On Wednesday, my roommate and I decided to visit the Hermitage for one last time. The Hermitage, is the Winter Palace once the home of the Romanov royal family. The palace and surrounding buildings were then turned into one of the biggest museums in the world. To look at every thing in the Hermitage for one minute, it would take more than 80 lifetimes to see the entire museum.

As many of you know, I am more than a little obsessed with Russian history, in particular the period of time leading to the revolution in 1917. Being in the Winter Palace seems completely unreal. During the 1920's, the palace was converted to the head of the Transitional Government, and then eventually the Communist party.

While most of the museum is laid out like any other, filled with paintings and sculptures including Da Vinci, Titian and Michelangelo. But parts of the palace are preserved living quarters for the Romanovs. The museum is so enormous I had never been able to find this corner of the museum with these rooms. Thankfully, on Wednesday I happened to stumble upon them. They included the "Gold Drawing room", the library and the nursery. It is hard to believe I have visited The Hermitage for the last time, there is still so much I have not seen.

Earlier that same day, on our way to the museum actually, we were surprised by happenings in downtown. Completely out of nowhere, a siren starts and everyone moves out of the way. Behind the siren, is a military tank. And behind that tank, is another, and soon over 50 military tanks and other cars fashioned with guns bigger than my body have driven by. Literally, straight through the heart of the city. People were taking pictures, but many also thought it was a very good sign to head indoors. We obviously, stood and taped the procession.

We then realized that this upcoming week starts a very big celebration in Russia. May 9th is Victory Day, and this year happens to be the 65th anniversary of the end of the Great Patriotic War (WWII). Since we saw this first procession, the city has been alive with military demonstrations and the streets are adorned with banners and people hand out Russian flags on the street. On the actual day, there is a huge parade downtown, something I cannot wait to experience. The patriotism is contagious and I already bought my own Russian flag to wave at the parade. It had to happen.

Today, we walked around the outskirts of downtown. We stumbled upon a beautiful park filled with sculptures and benches and flower beds. We, however, were not the only ones enjoying the park today. I have seen this kind of thing before but it is always the type of thing that will startle me. A man was walking down the path towards us and with him, on a leash, walked his bear.

Literally, his black bear. Earlier in the year, we saw a man walking a pretty good sized bear but we only caught it from afar and nobody had their cameras. This time, the bear was just a cub and I have decided that I am going to need one before I go home. I know I can bring 5 liters of Vodka back, but I don't know what their policy on bears is. I will post pictures of it a little later.

It is now less than two weeks before I return home. My time here has gone so fast. I know everyone thinks I am completely mental for choosing to Study abroad in Russia. But after being here, I know there is no where else I should have gone, and I would have regretted giving up this chance. Things that were so foreign to me have now worked their way into my reality.

I want to thank everyone who has followed my blog these past few months, it really does mean a lot. Thanks again, I hope you enjoyed it.

Peace out.